Lord of hosts

In Paul Turner's Blog by Paul Turner

Q:  Our Latin teacher asked me about what “Lord of hosts” means. I told him I thought it meant Lord of the angels, but then said I would ask a pro.  Can you clarify?

==

A:  Well, more precisely, it means “armies” – as in “a host of problems” or even “hostiles”.

In context, the word refers to angels, but militant ones. Not the ones Rafael put at the bottom of his Sistine Madonna.

God is their commander in chief.